Jab’s Builds! (Nightmare Creatures/Circus! Lawnmower Man! Metroid!)

[Jabroniville]

If he's all stone, how does he have hair? Maybe that's just a fright wig stapled to his skull.

Hm- must be. They obviously didn't think it all through. Hence him being stone-colored in base form.

[Doc chaos]

Jab, are you familiar with Cancerverse Mar-vell? Would you say that he's the same as Shuma-gorath as far as stats go?

[Jabroniville]

Jab, are you familiar with Cancerverse Mar-vell? Would you say that he's the same as Shuma-gorath as far as stats go?

I don't remember much about that story, but probably.

[Doc chaos]

I remember Nova's world mind having reservations about fighting him. Plus he smoked the Magus easily. I bring it up cause Adam is back amongst the living.

[Jabroniville]

COLDSTEEL
Played By: Xander Berkeley
Role: The Iago (naturally)
PL 9 (181)
STRENGTH 6 STAMINA -- AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 6 (+9)
Expertise (Warrior) 2 (+5)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Perception 3 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Snare) 2 (+10)
Technology 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Close Attack, Equipment (Built-In Gadgets), Improved Critical (Snare), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Strong Legs" Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
"Long Tail" Extra Limb 1 [1]
"Piercing Claws" Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]

"Garg-Bot"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 7 (Extras: Impervious 7) [14]
"Rocket Jetpack" Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
"Datalink" Communication 2 (Computers) [8]
Senses 2 (Infravision, Extended Hearing) [2]
"Self-Repairs" Regeneration 4 [4]

"Hentai-Tentacles" Snare 8 (Extras: Multiattack) (32) -- [33]

• AE: "Piercing Claws" Strength-Damage +0 (Feats: Penetrating 6) (Flaws: Distracting) (3)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Tentacles +10 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +7 (+4 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +6

Complications:
Vulnerable (Electrical & Magnetic Attacks)
Prejudice (Monster)
Relationship (Coldstone)- Coldfire has loved her rookery brother for years, and her personality was eventually transferred from the Coldstone cyborg to a robotic body.
Enemy (Coldstone & Coldfire)- Coldsteel hated Coldstone and loved Coldfire (who was with Coldstone), making for an ugly situation.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 107 / Defenses: 9 (181)

-Coldsteel (called "Iago" in the supporting materials) was a manipulative, nasty individual who wanted to get with Coldfire, and later came to inhabit Coldstone's mind. He got transferred into a new body with some nasty Tentacles, and then went off on his own. I never really cared for him too much (too lame a design, and kind of generic as a manipulator with no real charm), and found him a weak "New Villain" to replace the increasingly-nice Xanatos & Macbeth.

[Jabroniville]

Her Brother's Keeper: Elisa's brother Derek debuts, and he quits the force to work for Xanatos- Elisa correctly figures he's screwing with her and has dark plans, but isn't willing to divulge the whole truth to Derek until it's too late. The best moment is when Elisa barges into a police men's changeroom to harass Derek over it, coming across as over-protective and shrill, while all these embarassed guys run around in their towels and underwear to hide. They mess around with a helicopter (the crew were supposed to make Vehicle-based toys for the series), but really, if you had wings and were dependent upon proper wind and drafts, would you go anywhere NEAR a helicopter? The whole thing revolves around Jackal & Hyena, who are still free after their debut episode. It's also revealed that Xanatos is behind The Pack concept, which is a secret to most everyone but Fox. Brooklyn gets pinned down by a BIG chunk of tree, and it takes Broadway to pull it off of him. Broadway also one-punches the increasingly-jobbery Jackal with ease.

Reawakening: The debut of Goliath's old Rookery Brother Coldstone, now reanimated as a cyborg. Really, the best part of both is Xanatos' cheesy homage to "Frankenstein" with "It's Alive! ALLIIIIIIIIIVE!!!" complete with a casual "I've ALWAYS wanted to say that." Sadly, it's done a little too quickly for my tastes (for the full effect, you really have to ham it up). Coldstone gets one of the series' biggest overall Strength Feats, picking up a mid-sized car in a military press, and spiralling it through the air about twenty feet when he's hit by Goliath- in a series where "Super-Strength" is given as "just a good bit higher than most people", it really stands out as a peak moment. He & Goliath then brawl, proving themselves around the same level. "Boy, that Surround Sound is really great." "I don't remember any explosions in Bambi"- hahahaha, love that bit. It's always peculiar how many mega-fights take place in front of tons of witnesses (Matt, Morgan & hundreds of others watch a big Multi-Gargoyle Fight... I kinda remember them being more "Urban Legend-y" than that. In fact, later on Elisa makes fun of the rumors of Gargoyles, which makes NO SENSE given all the important witnesses here. Three Steel Clan appearances in, and the Clan are already making fun of how often the "Make 'em fly into stuff" trick works. Lex actually takes out XANATOS, too, which is a shocker.

-In another, Elisa goes undercover to act as Tony Dracon's partner-in-crime as a phony "cop on the take". Broadway figures out her game pretty quick, and I was impressed to see that Dracon DIDN'T just buy it right away, and brought back-up just in case. I didn't THINK any major crook could be THAT dumb. The "Jalapena!" catchphrase of sorts takes off here, though I was never all that amused with it.

[catsi563]

I kinda remember them being more "Urban Legend-y" than that. In fact, later on Elisa makes fun of the rumors of Gargoyles, which makes NO SENSE given all the important witnesses here.

have to remember we live in a world where people still think in the 21rst century that the world is flat and the sun revolves around it. its perfectly possible though highly idiotic that people would deny the evidence of their own eyes. Also eye witnesses are notoriously unreliable in some cases. 2 guys think they saw gargoyles one think theyre little red one while the other thinks theyre big green ones.

[Jabroniville]

The Second Season DVD set has some opening pre-ambles with Greg Weisman on each episode. He states that the goal here was to expand the show's world, and enhance many of it's original villains from the first 12 episodes.
"Leader of the Pack"- The Pack gets it's new member- Coyote (who appears to be Xanatos), who promptly shows one of the biggest Strength Feats in the show's history by grabbing a giant steel gate, bending it with his hands, then just TEARING IT OFF and throwing it onto some guards. Brooklyn gets some great lines "C'mon, Bronx. No sense staying up here where it's SAFE." Hyena is able to hold Lex in a sleeper-hold, but the boys are still stronger- Lex KOs Wolf with a big wind-up punch. There's some great animation in this one (though Dingo's facial hair vanishes in one shot). Hudson is surprisingly able to own Dingo, Hyena & Jackal simultaneously (a far cry from his showing against Owen).

Metamorphosis: Derek gets transformed into Talon. It was nice to see Xanatos TOTALLY faking guilt and an anti-Sevarius stance, upon "discovering" how dirty his colleague is. All in all, one of the douchiest things Xanatos has ever done was forcibly turn four people into Cat/Bat/Eels (and only ONE of them LIKED it).

Legion: The second "Coldstone" episodes introduces the "Gargoyles Syndrome" of his backstory, resulting in two other personalities inside him. Coldstone repairs himself mechanically, and proves himself bulletproof as well, while we meet a scheming Gargoyle who wants Coldstone's woman. Really, I never cared for any of these characters.

A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time: Our Very Special Episode devoted to reading, made a little better because Weisman & Co. were actually devoted to the idea, and came up with it themselves. Hudson learns to read, and Macbeth gets his second appearance, hunting for the Scrolls of Merlin. I did like the reveal of the Scrolls having been the diaries of Merlin, rather than a book of spells, though I could do without Broadway going on about the Magic Of Reading and "when you read them, they TAKE YOU THERE." Just a little too cheesy for my tastes. One of Macbeth's goons just shoves Elisa over and makes her drop her gun, which is a pretty handy way of removing her as an obstacle. It's always funny to me when characters can hear each other shout, despite clearly being separated by huge spaces over a roiling sea during a storm and with two Harrier Jets flying directly overhead. Obviously it's just a dramatic convenience.

This one's ALL about Hudson's friendship with a blind author- he and the guy have this really neat relationship, both being Old Soldiers who commisserate over stuff like that ("It's funny- I imagined you to be a soldier" "Aye, I was... Still am, I suppose").

[Jabroniville]

It took the "Human Form" to debut for me to realize just how hot Demona really was.

DEMONA
Played By: Marina Sirtis
Role: The Manipulator, Paranoid Freak,
PL 10 (217)
STRENGTH 6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Aerobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 6 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+14)
Deception 8 (+12, +14 Attractive)
Expertise (Magic) 5 (+8)
Experitse (History) 9 (+12)
Expertise (Warrior) 6 (+9)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 7 (+10)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 6 (+8)
Persuasion 6 (+10, +12 Attractive)
Stealth 5 (+10)
Technology 3 (+6)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-Out Attack, Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 4 (Blaster), Evasion, Fascination (Persuasion), Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed, Blaster), Improved Grab, Improved Initiative 2, Improved Hold, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Ritualist, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown, Taunt

Powers:
"Gargoyle Wings" Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (Quirks: Gliders) [3]
"Defenders of the Night" Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]
"Strong Legs" Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
"Healing At Night" Regeneration 4 (Flaws: Limited to During the Stone-Sleep) [2]
"Long Tail" Extra Limb 1 [1]

"Piercing Claws"
Strength-Damage +0 (Feats: Penetrating 6) (Flaws: Distracting) [3]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]

"Pact With Macbeth"
Immortality 14 (4 minutes) [28]
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]

Equipment:
"Laser Cannon" Blast 8 (16) -- (17)

• AE: "Mace" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Penetrating 5) (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Weapons +12 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Laser Blaster +11 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +13

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +6, Fortitude +7, Will +8

Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Stone By Day)- All Gargoyles are forced into a stone "hibernation" during the day- they will become unaware of their surroundings and immobile during this time, and are incredibly vulnerable. As a bonus, they appear to be harmless stone statues (which almost never go noticed by people as odd).
Involuntary Transformation (Human By Day)- Demona is eventually afflicted by a magic spell that reverts her to Human form by day. This mortifies the anti-human bigot, but proves useful. However, her Human Form drops all her Powers (save those from the Pact With Macbeth), and reduce her stats to ST 2, STA 2, AGI 3 & FIGHTING 6 (she apparently gains a lot of her fighting skill from her Gargoyle speed, as Elisa absolutely handed her her ass in a fight). The rest of her stats are as normal.
Reputation (Psychotic Loner)- Demona has betrayed everyone with whom she has ever partnered. The Wyvern Clan, Macbeth, Xanatos, and more. She is alone through her own paranoia and machinations, leaving her cold and vicious.
Responsibility ("Alone")- Demona has often sought out new alliances, despite her insane paranoia.
Temper- Demona's temper is as fierce as Goliath's.
Prejudice (Monster)
Prejudice (Hates Humanity)- Demona is more hateful of humanity than any other Gargoyle, seeking nothing but the destruction of the entire species. When she discovered Puck had turned Manhattan into an island of Gargoyles, she was actually offended that they weren't dead, and instead given "the GIFT of being a Gargoyle!"
Power Loss (Pact)- If One Lives... Both Shall Live. However, if Macbeth is the one who slays Demona, she will stay dead (and he will finally have his rest). Due to their pact, Demona will be afflicted with whichever conditions Macbeth is (it is unknown as to how far this reaches, though Weisman has suggested that distance weakens the effect, as he was irked when the writers had it happen when they were in separate rooms).
Enemy (Macbeth)- Demona betrayed him centuries ago after assuming the worst about his plans- this led to the destruction of Macbeth's kingdom, and the death of his son. He is now Demona's most implacable enemy, and he has hunted her for a dozen lifetimes.
Relationship (Goliath)- The two were once the Gargoyle equivalent of "married", but when she revealed her evil in modern times (and revealed her role in the Clan'd demise), they split apart. She still cares for him somewhat, but is twisted by hate and anger.
Relationship (Thailog)- Thailog has replaced Goliath in Demona's life, but his unnatural evil and disassociation from positive emotions has led him to betray HER, too.
Relationship (Angela)- Demona's first positive emotion in a LONG time came from discovering her & Goliath's daughter, Angela. She hunted her due to her link to the Clan, and was angry at her "I HATE you!" remark, but ultimately chose to sacrifice her safety to save her daughter's life.
Enemy (Elisa Maza)- Once it became clear that Elisa represented Goliath's newfound love of humans, Demona swore vengeance upon her. Her jealousy and anger knows no bounds, and she often specifically tries to destroy Goliath's new love.

Total: Abilities: 86 / Skills: 76--38 / Advantages: 35 / Powers: 42 / Defenses: 16 (217)

-Oh, Demona, where would Gargoyles be without you? Brought in as a "shocking revelation" that she was still alive, she turned out to be a crazed anti-human murderer right out of the gate (we'd later learn that it was HER FAULT that the Vikings were able to storm the castle and kill off the rest of the Clan in the first place), and turned on Goliath & company in short order. Still occasionally allying with Xanatos, she even betrayed HIM once too often (freezing all of Manhattan in stone, then going of a frigging KILLING SPREE with her mace and laser gun!!). And THEN we learn her entire monstrous backstory with Macbeth, which finally gives us the "full story" on her character.

-See, decades after the "A thousand years ago" Origin Story for the others, an aged, weakened Demona made a deal with young King Macbeth of Scotland, after saving his life from The Hunter- a man who'd been stalking her for decades (after she clawed his face as a boy, when he'd come across her hidden in the stables). They allied to kill the Hunter, then combined their forces to form the last great "Gargoyle Army". Unfortunately, her own paranoia- a key aspect of her character- led her to betray him to the forces of King Duncan's orphaned son, and Macbeth swore vengeance.

-Meanwhile, we learn that she & Macbeth are inextricably bound to one another- if one dies, both die; but if one lives, BOTH live- this means that the pair are immortal, unless one kills the other. And of course, they hate each other, and Macbeth wants Demona DEAD, even if it means he dies too. And through all of this, we basically learn that Demona blames everyone but herself for her own struggles- the death of her clan is laid at her feet by the Weird Sisters, as well as her other sins ("Who betrayed the castle to the Vikings?"), and she has to deal with the fact that her constant string of betraying others has ruined countless lives, including her own. But there's still some sympathy there, as Demona sheds a single tear, and allows the heroes to avert disaster from her bombing run ("The password is... 'ALONE'...").

-All of this betrayal and scheming makse Demona easily the most PERSONAL of the nemeses of the Gargoyles- Xanatos is a pest, but hasn't killed any of their friends. Macbeth is dangerous, but carries no grudge against them. Demona? Demona wiped out the entire CLAN through her shenanigans, nearly had Brooklyn get Goliath killed (leading to an early grudge between the two of them), is responsible for the downfall of Macbeth's kingdom (and the death of his son, and probably his wife), and more- the others are scornful villains, but only DEMONA earns real hate. It says something that of the Triumvirate of Gargoyles Rogues, Demona is the only one who doesn't turn good by the end of the series.

-It's the nature of Demona's personality that makes her as a villain- physically she's not a match for the entire Clan, and she'd probably lose a straight-up fight to Goliath. She's one of those villains you could innately feel sorry for, because she often had understandable intentions. It's just that she was too crazy to accept the goodness in anyone. It was like you KNEW she was evil, but you could understand why. I can't really think of another villain quite like her out there- this pathetic, flailing, vicious woman who was a dangerous foe while also wailing at her own guilt. Greg Weisman has said that things would end with Demona finally seeing the light, and joining the side of the angels.

-Demona is built more-or-less like the Boys & Angela, but is much more accurate, equaling Goliath in PL, but going WAAAAYYYYYYYY beyond him in points-cost, like a true villain should. She's strong, fast and quite good in the Mental Stats, as well as having tons of Skills & Advantages due to such a long life. She can fight as well as anyone in the series, and can even search out & cast magical spells (using the Grimorum Arcanorum of course). THEN you add in the fact that she can resurrect from any damage in minutes thanks to her link with Macbeth (adding to the Gargoyle Template power-set). She's a bit of a nasty piece of work.

[Jabroniville]

KING ARTHUR PENDRAGON
Played By: Ryan St. John
Role: The Once & Future King
PL 10 (131)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 5

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+6)
Close Combat (Sword) 2 (+14)
Expertise (Knight-King) 10 (+13)
Expertise (Magic) 2 (+5)
Insight 3 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+7)
Perception 3 (+7)
Persuasion 4 (+9)
Ranged Combat (Bow & Arrow) 2 (+8)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Diehard, Equipment 3 (Knightly Gear), Defensive Attack, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Sword) 2, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6, Ritualist, Takedown

Powers:
"Excalibur" (Flaws: Easily Removable) (Feats: Unbreakable) [9]
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 8) (13 points)

Equipment:
"Sword" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical, Penetrating 5) (9)
"Armour" Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 3) (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sword +14 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +4 (+6 Armour, +2 Impervious), Fortitude +5, Will +9

Complications:
Motivation (Find Merlin)- Arthur and his buddy Griff are on some mission to find Merlin.
Responsibility (Once & Future King)- Arthur is devoted to the safety of England, and he is supposed to be there to face her greatest threat.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 9 / Defenses: 16 (131)

-King Arthur showed up in the Avalon arc of the show, and later arrived to team up with Goliath's British buddy Griff, where they went off on some adventure (Weisman says it was one of SIX potential spin-offs for the series... none of which ever got made). He was pretty typical as a character, but I found him rather dull (he was kind of just some big wise king dude... you get better stories either from the CREATION of such a character, or when other characters are at the forefront, and have to deal with him). For his build, I made him PL 10 like the elites of the Garg-verse (he defeated Macbeth in hand-to-hand, and Macbeth can take on the entire Clan at once), and have him some Knight-ly tricks of the trade. Plus Excalibur, though it didn't show any Magical properties in-show that I can recall.

[Jabroniville]

Dibs on the hot one.

THE WEIRD SISTERS (Selene, Phoebe & Luna)
Played By: Kath Soucie
Role: Secret Manipulators, Grudge-Holding Wenches
PL 10 (208)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 8 (+12)
Expertise (Magic) 8 (+13)
Expertise (History) 8 (+13)
Insight 5 (+9)
Intimidation 5 (+9)
Investigation 4 (+8)
Perception 4 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+8)
Ranged Combat (Magic) 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Magic), Power Attack, Set-Up, Startle, Teamwork

Powers:
"Children of Oberon"
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Regeneration 4 [4]
"Giant Size" Growth 8 [16]
Immortality 5 [10]
Features 1: Appear As a Member of the Race Staring At Them [1]

Variable 8 [56]
(Blasts, Transformations, Teleportation, etc.)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Blast +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +5, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Mystery)- The Weird Sisters have a peculiar role in the world- they are subservient to Oberon, but frequently go against what he would likely want. They manipulate Demona & Macbeth for revenge, but also have good intentions towards teaching Goliath & Demona about the nature of vengeance.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 88 / Defenses: 16 (208)

-The Weird Sisters are classically-oddbeat characters, manipulating things from behind the scenes for their own ends. It's revealed that a lot of their stuff is to get revenge on The Magus and his allies for embarassing them years ago, but the Sisters also tried to reform Demona, gave Macbeth a degree of peace (or rest), and even teach Goliath not to commit acts of vengeance (way to practice what you preach, bitches). They exhibited a near-random assortment of powers (The Magus got kidnapped by Vikings, but owned the Sisters with a single Owl-Transformation Reversal Spell, then died fighting all three of them off another time), and power levels (they appear to be uber-powerful in some scenes, and are able to triple-team a Banshee into submission). Like in Shakespeare's "Scottish Play", the Weird Sisters are a mystery.

[Ares]

I believe Weisman mentioned that the Weird Sisters act differently depending on which sister is "in charge" at the moment, that each individual sister's power ebbs and flows so that the trio act in concert with whomever is most prominent at the time. It's sort of like the shifting of the moon, with one face having dominance for a time, then fading to give dominance to another, and then the other, and then it shifts again. So they're more vengeful when one sister is in charge, more benevolent when another is, etc. I think Greg might have mentioned them being the ultimate masterminds behind a lot of the setting, and either them or Oberon's mom would ultimately be one of the Big Bads of the setting.

[Jabroniville]

I believe Weisman mentioned that the Weird Sisters act differently depending on which sister is "in charge" at the moment, that each individual sister's power ebbs and flows so that the trio act in concert with whomever is most prominent at the time. It's sort of like the shifting of the moon, with one face having dominance for a time, then fading to give dominance to another, and then the other, and then it shifts again. So they're more vengeful when one sister is in charge, more benevolent when another is, etc. I think Greg might have mentioned them being the ultimate masterminds behind a lot of the setting, and either them or Oberon's mom would ultimately be one of the Big Bads of the setting.

Yeah, I remember him mentioning their names and roles in one of his "DVD Preambles". Unfortunately, it never comes up in the show, and I don't think they even get named there. Another one of many "In the Supplemental Material Only" things:

The Weird Sisters can assume various forms, although no matter what shape they are in, their coloring remains the same; Luna is silver-haired (and is the Sister of Fate), Phoebe is golden-haired (and is the Sister of Grace), and Seline black-haired (and is the Sister of Vengeance or Fury). The Weird Sisters are completely unaware that they are consistently battling the other two sisters for ascendancy.

[Jabroniville]

Ah, here's a full "Ask Greg" about them:

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=559

Anonymous writes...
In the episode Avalon, we find out that the Wierd Sisters had made Demona and Macbeth immortal so that they could attack the Avalon Clan. The way they acted in this episode dosen't seem to match their character. Did they have some "Master Plan" of their own, and were simply using the Archmage as a pawn to accomplish some over-all mission?

Greg responds...
What are you basing your analysis of their characters on?

I've heard a lot of complaints about the Weird Sisters. At first they struck me as odd, but now I think I know where the confusion came from.

A. People took the way they presented themselves in "City of Stone" and in "High Noon" at face value.

B. When they saw the Sisters again in "Avalon" and "Ill Met by Moonlight", people didn't like the way they were behaving as much. The Sisters weren't as mysterious or powerful or something. So they rejected the "face value" version that was presented in those episodes.

C. People were less enamored of the Archmage than I was. When we first used the Archmage in "Long Way to Morning" I was phenominally impressed with David Warner, the actor who voiced the part. The character was just a cliched sorcerer, but I felt David added a level of menace that was irresistable. So even though we had killed off the character, I was determined to bring the Archmage back in a way that would let David go to town, and make the cliched Archmage into the near Satanic villain I envisioned he could be. That was what "Avalon, Part II" was supposed to accomplish. David didn't let me down. His dual performances as both versions of the Archmage was a true tour-de-force. But perhaps I failed David. The "Archmage-plus" was supposed to be all-but-omnipotent and all-but-omniscient. Once he had the Grimorum, the Eye and the Gate, he was supposed to be much more threatening than any villain we had encountered up to that point, including the Sisters. His fatal flaw (demonstrated in parts two and three) was his unwavering arrogance. He could have finished all his enemies off instantly. But at heart, he was still this cliched guy who had to toy with his enemies and make them suffer before he wiped them out. That gave the good guys time to rally and defeat him. I'm sure most of you basically got this, but you didn't FEEL it enough, so the Archmage didn't seem tough enough to boss the Sisters around. So everyone assumes that the Sisters are using HIM in some way.

D. Part of the reason for this is probably due to the fact that the final script for "Avalon, Part II" was WAY, WAY too long. We had to cut a lot of stuff before we shipped in order to get the show down to the correct length.
You didn't miss any important info, but I do think we lost a bit of the scope of the Archmage's plans, as well as some nice character moments and a bit of helpful expository stuff.

E. People didn't get the Sister's constraints vis-a-vis Oberon. Their hands were much more tied than people seemed to realize. They couldn't enter Avalon of their own volition. They were banished to the barge to guard it. The Archmage's commands gave them their excuse. And they wanted that excuse. So let me make something clear here: THEY ARE A VENGEFUL TRIO OF WITCHES. They wanted vengeance. But as immortals, they could afford to be patient. It didn't matter whether vengeance came in nine days or nine centuries. So, they were using the Archmage. Using him to extract their vengeance. That doesn't mean they wouldn't have eventually turned on the Archmage to get him off Avalon, but that would have been some fight, let me tell you.

F. Having said all that, don't imagine that helping the Archmage is the only thing they did for a millenium. They didn't follow Demona and Macbeth around every minute. They do have other things going on. Other plans. And I'm not saying that what they did for the Archmage doesn't dovetail with these other plans, but that doesn't mean they didn't sincerely want revenge on the Magus and his friends.

G. And they still do. The Magus may be largely beyond their reach, but Goliath and the others aren't. They still need to tread carefully because they can't risk Oberon or Titania's wrath, but believe me, they've got something up their sleeves.

I'm sure this "answer" raises a lot more questions. I can probably predict some of them, but it's much more fun to wait for you guys to ask them.

So basically, their "I thought I was writing them better than I actually was" nature is the source of a lot of confusion & complains about the Weird Sisters. And a helpful reminder to other writers about introducing characters with a different personality than they're supposed to end up with (like Dr. Light II in Crisis on Infinite Earths).

[HalloweenJack]

It took the "Human Form" to debut for me to realize just how hot Demona really was.

DEMONA
Played By: Marina Sirtis
Role: The Manipulator, Paranoid Freak,
PL 10 (217)
STRENGTH 6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Aerobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 6 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+14)
Deception 8 (+12, +14 Attractive)
Expertise (Magic) 5 (+8)
Experitse (History) 9 (+12)
Expertise (Warrior) 6 (+9)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 7 (+10)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 6 (+8)
Persuasion 6 (+10, +12 Attractive)
Stealth 5 (+10)
Technology 3 (+6)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, All-Out Attack, Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Equipment 4 (Blaster), Evasion, Fascination (Persuasion), Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed, Blaster), Improved Grab, Improved Initiative 2, Improved Hold, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Ritualist, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown, Taunt

Powers:
"Gargoyle Wings" Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (Quirks: Gliders) [3]
"Defenders of the Night" Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]
"Strong Legs" Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
"Healing At Night" Regeneration 4 (Flaws: Limited to During the Stone-Sleep) [2]
"Long Tail" Extra Limb 1 [1]

"Piercing Claws"
Strength-Damage +0 (Feats: Penetrating 6) (Flaws: Distracting) [3]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]

"Pact With Macbeth"
Immortality 14 (4 minutes) [28]
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]

Equipment:
"Laser Cannon" Blast 8 (16) -- (17)

• AE: "Mace" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Penetrating 5) (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Weapons +12 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Laser Blaster +11 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +13

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +6, Fortitude +7, Will +8

Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Stone By Day)- All Gargoyles are forced into a stone "hibernation" during the day- they will become unaware of their surroundings and immobile during this time, and are incredibly vulnerable. As a bonus, they appear to be harmless stone statues (which almost never go noticed by people as odd).
Involuntary Transformation (Human By Day)- Demona is eventually afflicted by a magic spell that reverts her to Human form by day. This mortifies the anti-human bigot, but proves useful. However, her Human Form drops all her Powers (save those from the Pact With Macbeth), and reduce her stats to ST 2, STA 2, AGI 3 & FIGHTING 6 (she apparently gains a lot of her fighting skill from her Gargoyle speed, as Elisa absolutely handed her her ass in a fight). The rest of her stats are as normal.
Reputation (Psychotic Loner)- Demona has betrayed everyone with whom she has ever partnered. The Wyvern Clan, Macbeth, Xanatos, and more. She is alone through her own paranoia and machinations, leaving her cold and vicious.
Responsibility ("Alone")- Demona has often sought out new alliances, despite her insane paranoia.
Temper- Demona's temper is as fierce as Goliath's.
Prejudice (Monster)
Prejudice (Hates Humanity)- Demona is more hateful of humanity than any other Gargoyle, seeking nothing but the destruction of the entire species. When she discovered Puck had turned Manhattan into an island of Gargoyles, she was actually offended that they weren't dead, and instead given "the GIFT of being a Gargoyle!"
Power Loss (Pact)- If One Lives... Both Shall Live. However, if Macbeth is the one who slays Demona, she will stay dead (and he will finally have his rest). Due to their pact, Demona will be afflicted with whichever conditions Macbeth is (it is unknown as to how far this reaches, though Weisman has suggested that distance weakens the effect, as he was irked when the writers had it happen when they were in separate rooms).
Enemy (Macbeth)- Demona betrayed him centuries ago after assuming the worst about his plans- this led to the destruction of Macbeth's kingdom, and the death of his son. He is now Demona's most implacable enemy, and he has hunted her for a dozen lifetimes.
Relationship (Goliath)- The two were once the Gargoyle equivalent of "married", but when she revealed her evil in modern times (and revealed her role in the Clan'd demise), they split apart. She still cares for him somewhat, but is twisted by hate and anger.
Relationship (Thailog)- Thailog has replaced Goliath in Demona's life, but his unnatural evil and disassociation from positive emotions has led him to betray HER, too.
Relationship (Angela)- Demona's first positive emotion in a LONG time came from discovering her & Goliath's daughter, Angela. She hunted her due to her link to the Clan, and was angry at her "I HATE you!" remark, but ultimately chose to sacrifice her safety to save her daughter's life.
Enemy (Elisa Maza)- Once it became clear that Elisa represented Goliath's newfound love of humans, Demona swore vengeance upon her. Her jealousy and anger knows no bounds, and she often specifically tries to destroy Goliath's new love.

Total: Abilities: 86 / Skills: 76--38 / Advantages: 35 / Powers: 42 / Defenses: 16 (217)

-Oh, Demona, where would Gargoyles be without you? Brought in as a "shocking revelation" that she was still alive, she turned out to be a crazed anti-human murderer right out of the gate (we'd later learn that it was HER FAULT that the Vikings were able to storm the castle and kill off the rest of the Clan in the first place), and turned on Goliath & company in short order. Still occasionally allying with Xanatos, she even betrayed HIM once too often (freezing all of Manhattan in stone, then going of a frigging KILLING SPREE with her mace and laser gun!!). And THEN we learn her entire monstrous backstory with Macbeth, which finally gives us the "full story" on her character.

-See, decades after the "A thousand years ago" Origin Story for the others, an aged, weakened Demona made a deal with young King Macbeth of Scotland, after saving his life from The Hunter- a man who'd been stalking her for decades (after she clawed his face as a boy, when he'd come across her hidden in the stables). They allied to kill the Hunter, then combined their forces to form the last great "Gargoyle Army". Unfortunately, her own paranoia- a key aspect of her character- led her to betray him to the forces of King Duncan's orphaned son, and Macbeth swore vengeance.

-Meanwhile, we learn that she & Macbeth are inextricably bound to one another- if one dies, both die; but if one lives, BOTH live- this means that the pair are immortal, unless one kills the other. And of course, they hate each other, and Macbeth wants Demona DEAD, even if it means he dies too. And through all of this, we basically learn that Demona blames everyone but herself for her own struggles- the death of her clan is laid at her feet by the Weird Sisters, as well as her other sins ("Who betrayed the castle to the Vikings?"), and she has to deal with the fact that her constant string of betraying others has ruined countless lives, including her own. But there's still some sympathy there, as Demona sheds a single tear, and allows the heroes to avert disaster from her bombing run ("The password is... 'ALONE'...").

-All of this betrayal and scheming makse Demona easily the most PERSONAL of the nemeses of the Gargoyles- Xanatos is a pest, but hasn't killed any of their friends. Macbeth is dangerous, but carries no grudge against them. Demona? Demona wiped out the entire CLAN through her shenanigans, nearly had Brooklyn get Goliath killed (leading to an early grudge between the two of them), is responsible for the downfall of Macbeth's kingdom (and the death of his son, and probably his wife), and more- the others are scornful villains, but only DEMONA earns real hate. It says something that of the Triumvirate of Gargoyles Rogues, Demona is the only one who doesn't turn good by the end of the series.

-It's the nature of Demona's personality that makes her as a villain- physically she's not a match for the entire Clan, and she'd probably lose a straight-up fight to Goliath. She's one of those villains you could innately feel sorry for, because she often had understandable intentions. It's just that she was too crazy to accept the goodness in anyone. It was like you KNEW she was evil, but you could understand why. I can't really think of another villain quite like her out there- this pathetic, flailing, vicious woman who was a dangerous foe while also wailing at her own guilt. Greg Weisman has said that things would end with Demona finally seeing the light, and joining the side of the angels.

-Demona is built more-or-less like the Boys & Angela, but is much more accurate, equaling Goliath in PL, but going WAAAAYYYYYYYY beyond him in points-cost, like a true villain should. She's strong, fast and quite good in the Mental Stats, as well as having tons of Skills & Advantages due to such a long life. She can fight as well as anyone in the series, and can even search out & cast magical spells (using the Grimorum Arcanorum of course). THEN you add in the fact that she can resurrect from any damage in minutes thanks to her link with Macbeth (adding to the Gargoyle Template power-set). She's a bit of a nasty piece of work.

oooooh that second pic